1. Field of the Invention
This invention generally relates to the field of communications and information network management. More particularly, the present invention relates to a novel system that allows remote end users to rapidly and securely access information from a variety of subscriber devices using a centralized remote data center.
2. Description of Related Art
Recent innovations in wireless communication and computer-related technologies as well as the unprecedented growth of Internet subscribers have provided tremendous opportunities in telecommuting and mobile computing. In fact, corporate entities and enterprises are moving towards providing their workforces with ubiquitous access to networked corporate applications and data, such as, for example, e-mail, address books, appointment calendars, scheduling information, etc.
The problem with providing universal access to proprietary information is one of logistics. For example, it is common for an individual to keep sets of addresses on different devices, such as work addresses on a personal computer used at work, personal addresses on a home computer, and commonly called telephone numbers on a cellular telephone. Problems arise when the individual is at home and wishes to call or fax a work colleague, particularly when the individual does not have access to the work addresses from the home computer or any other available device. Further, different urgent priority items, such as urgent e-mails, may be unavailable to a subscriber for an extended period of time if the subscriber is equipped only with a personal digital assistant (PDA) and a cellular telephone unable to receive e-mail.
Along with the problem of maintaining data in various locations, users frequently have access to different devices, each having different data access abilities and requirements. For example, certain cellular telephones have speed dial or commonly called telephone numbers, but do not have the ability to receive e-mail. Certain cellular telephone handsets have the ability to receive alphanumeric pages, but some cellular service providers do not support this feature while others do. Also, many PDAs do not have the ability to receive over-the-air transmissions, but can synchronize with a database, such as a database associated with a personal computer and/or network. Other PDAs have the ability to receive and edit e-mail messages. Some systems or networks allow a subscriber to download her e-mail headers to a remote device and read some portion or all of the e-mail. After reading the e-mail on the remote device, some systems delete the e-mail while others maintain the e-mail on the system until read or deleted at the home system. Hence the ability for a subscriber to access, maintain, and dynamically utilize information is heavily dependent on the input device employed by the subscriber.
Further, certain organizations limit access to workers having a need to know the information maintained. For example, many corporations control e-mail using a dedicated server having restricted access, including using firewalls and encryption. Access to this information requires making the information available under conditions imposed and maintained by the corporation.
For purposes of this application, a corporation or other entity, public private, or otherwise, is referred to as an xe2x80x9centerprise.xe2x80x9d As used herein, an enterprise represents any entity maintaining or controlling information at a remote location from a subscriber. Examples of enterprises include a secure corporate network, a dedicated server, or a publicly accessible web site network. Other enterprises may be employed which maintain and control certain information as may be appreciated by those of skill in the art.
While certain systems have been employed to provide access to information maintained at an enterprise, none have provided for access by multiple devices including PDAs, cellular telephones, personal computers, laptops, MICROSOFT(copyright) Windows CE devices, and so forth. Further, those systems discussed in the literature that provide information access to users employing a limited set of input devices have suffered from accessibility and data latency problems. Accessibility issues involve providing access to the information by only offering access through a corporate Intranet or other internal access scheme. A subscriber wishing to review his or her e-mail on a laptop borrowed from a colleague frequently is denied access to the corporate information. Further, data latency universally inhibits the ability to access data. Users desire a fast response to the information they desire, and information on any device that takes longer than fifteen seconds to load is undesirable.
Additionally, certain enterprises wish to have control over information maintained on their networks, including maintaining password and account information for the enterprise users. It is therefore undesirable for the enterprise to offer sensitive data, such as subscriber information and passwords, to outside parties where the data may be compromised. Security issues, such as corporate firewalls and encryption of data, must in many instances be maintained and controlled by the enterprise rather than a third party.
Certain enterprises also have particular needs and preferences. For example, some corporate enterprises may maintain a network that interfaces with offices in different countries, and depending on the person accessing the information, he or she may have a particular language preference. Certain enterprises also find it highly desirable to have a reconfigurable interface to provide updated graphics, information, and presence to network users. These subscriber interfaces may change rapidly in some industries. A system offering information access should therefore be readily reconfigurable and offer subscriber interfaces structured for the enterprise for use on a variety of input devices.
Such a system should be relatively easy to set up and maintain, and use readily available hardware and software wherever possible. Further, the system should provide for data access tracking and efficient security and authorization.
It is therefore an object of the current invention to provide a system for offering convenient and efficient access to data, including e-mail, calendar/date book, and addresses. These terms are commonly known in the art, wherein e-mail represents electronic mail deliverable in a recognized format, including attachments and other electronic mail attributes. Calendar/date book data represents dates of meetings, appointments, holidays, or other noteworthy events maintained in a searchable database type format. Addresses represent information associated with contacts, such as the contact""s name, title, company, business address, business phone number, business fax number, home address and/or phone number, cellular phone number, e-mail address, and so forth. Access to the information should preferably be provided through a central location.
It is a further object of this invention to provide for access to the desired information using any of a variety of input devices, including but not limited to a personal computer, a laptop computer, a PDA, a cellular telephone, a two-way pager, and a MICROSOFT(copyright) Windows CE device.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide a system that recognizes the type of device addressing and requesting the information and to provide the information to the device in a proper format in accordance with the preferences of the enterprise transmitting the information.
It is another object of the current invention to provide a central location for enabling a series of users to access information at various enterprises when said users employ various input devices. Such a central location should offer relatively robust access to the information desired, offer security for information maintained on the enterprise such as subscriber data and passwords, and provide for authentication and access tracking.
It is yet another object of the current invention to provide an interconnection between a central data location and an enterprise such that the interconnection can quickly, reliably, and efficiently transfer information, such as e-mail, calendar, and address data, between the central data location and the enterprise.
It is a further object of the current invention to provide a remote enterprise architecture that supports inquiries from and responses to the central data location for use in a multiple subscriber and multiple input device data access scheme. The remote enterprise architecture should permit rapid access to the information and transmission of the information while simultaneously maintaining firewall, security, and encryption requirements.
It is still a further object of the current invention to provide architectures, which are reliable and easy to use from both a software and hardware standpoint, and utilize where possible existing components to minimize system costs.
It is yet a further object of the current system to provide a subscriber interface that is readily reconfigurable by an enterprise maintaining the information. Further, the subscriber interface should preferably provide enterprise data on various input devices and take into account enterprise and subscriber preferences when interfacing with a subscriber.
It is another object of the current invention to provide a business model for supplying users with access to e-mail, calendar, and address information in a multiple input device environment when the desired information is maintained at a remote enterprise.
Accordingly, there is herein provided a data center that provides a central location for accessing, transmitting, and maintaining desired subscriber information, including e-mail, calendar, and contacts. The data center includes a login site and associated SQL server, an enterprise gateway server and associated SQL system. The arrangement disclosed herein provides for remote login by users employing any of a number of subscriber input devices. The architecture provides for two levels of authentication, including an initial authentication for the data center and a pass through authentication to the enterprise network. The data center also preferably includes security, such as firewall hardware, and has the ability to translate received CDO commands into XML commands.
The data center permits the authentication of a subscriber and access to a remote enterprise having a scalable, reliable, and secure data platform, such as MICROSOFT(copyright) Exchange Server. Access to the remote enterprise is made through a dedicated connection such as an IPSEC or PPTP tunnel arrangement. The enterprise network is preferably maintained by the party controlling the information and the connection, and thus the system supports access to the remote enterprise through the data center without the data center receiving and translating the subscriber information.
The remote access device transmits or receives information over a data link, which is connected to a data center. The data center offers a central location for accessing and processing information from various remote enterprise networks. The data center includes at least one login server, configured as a web server (e.g., MICROSOFT(copyright) IIS), having access to at least one attributes database server (e.g., SQL server). The login server identifies and authenticates the subscriber and verifies that the subscriber is associated with a particular enterprise. The login server refers to the attributes database server for the data necessary to perform these tasks, and thus the attributes database server performs data storage for account access purposes. The login runs individual active server pages that provide the requested information back across the data link to the subscriber. The data center may send data through a dedicated connection, which is preferably an IPSEC tunnel through the Internet, a PPTP connection via the Internet, or it may send data through a non-Internet WAN transport mechanism. The Internet provides a powerful and readily accessible data transmission media. Addition of enterprise networks or data centers to an arrangement employing the Internet is relatively simple. The data link may also employ the Internet for subscriber access to the data center.
Other objects, features, and advantages of the present invention will become more apparent from a consideration of the following detailed description and from the accompanying drawings.